PSU tier list 2.0

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You have the Evga GS series all lumped together when the 550 and 650 watt models are based on different platforms, you have the G1/Nex lower than the FSP Aurum which is the unit it is based on, you have the Seasonic G and the XTR which on based on the same platform and have very similar performance at different tiers.just to name a few things wrong with it. I don't think it is garage and I am not biased against due to me having a bad psu which I don't, I just don't like misleading information.
 
You know, with as many people are out there that think the 80+ ratings means that a 80+ Gold unit is superior to a 80+ Bronze in quality, trying to get them to understand the difference between a BeQuiet PSU and an EVGA G2 probably will not happen in most cases.
 


Based doesn't necessarily mean exactly the same. Most manufactures request specific components.

For example, The Seasonic G series platform is a base platform for Seasonic. XFX's XTR units use the same platform. XFX requests Seasonic to use specific components in their units to meet their price bracket and standards. The XFX unit actually performs better in terms of operating temperature and voltage regulation, but not in ripple suppression.

Now here's the thing. There will be changes to keep the tier list consistent. I will move the XFX XTR series down a tier because of this and the EVGA NEX G up, but not the NEX B, since that is based off a raider platform and it performs about as good as the Raider.

I know most people aren't biased to one list or one unit. I know some people will call this misleading, but I won't tolerate people (not directing any force to you dude) saying this list is garbage because they prioritize a brand name over everything else. Heck, JonnyGuru has even decided that referencing this list on his forums is a bannable offense, simply because he doesn't like it. It's misogynous, stupid and proves that some "experts" really like directing fire at someone because their opinion is apparently fact and want to push it hard.
 
Where would some Seasonic OEM units be on the list? Some models I'm considering for a home/office build for my parents (thinking of an LGA1151-based build, without a discrete GPU, around $800-1200 including peripherals , from NewEgg, expected to last 6-7 years) include the SSP-300ST, SSP-350ST and SSP-450RT. (I'm also looking at maybe the SS-500ET, but it doesn't say anything about Haswell support which I assume that means the low power sleep states which Skylake would also have.)

The largest case I'd consider would be something like the Cooler Master HAF 922, which is also about double what I want to spend on the case and would only have front and top (near the rear) airflow. I'd prefer something the size and price of the Xion XON-360, but something like the NZXT Source 210 Elite would be fine too. All of the cases I'm considering, those included, use bottom PSU mounts. The desk's design pretty much necessitates a top-exhausting fan. Would cable lengths on the Seasonic OEM units be a concern?

Are there any Jonnyguru or techpowerup-like reviews of the above-mentioned Seasonic units, or other similar models?
Also what about using models that are from a well-known brand (Seasonic for example) that don't advertise Haswell support? Or should that be avoided?

I should mention our local electricity rate is currently 29¢/kWh, and could likely go up, so I'm thinking that might influence whether we get a bronze or gold PSU or even step up to a Platinum.

A few other PSUs I'm considering for my parents' new PC are some lower-wattage (300-500) Seasonic G and S12II units, as well as the 550-watt EVGA Supernova G2 that got a 10 score on Jonnyguru (although that's a bit more than I'd prefer we pay for a PSU for this build, unless we need to).

Also, our house doesn't have AC, and we routinely see it up in the mid 80s °F inside in summer. I've even seen it around 90°F a couple times in late summer in the evening. Also several years ago we had an especially hot summer – one day it was 117°F outside, and while I don't remember the indoor temperature, judging by how not-so-comfortable we were I'm sure it was over 100-104°F/38-40°C inside. (We live about 15-20 miles east of San Diego, CA.) I'm guessing with ambient temperatures like that, something like the Corsair CX430 wouldn't be a wise choice, right? 😉 (It's rare that we have a summer that doesn't have at least a few days over 100°F/38°C outside. I think the hottest this past summer got was around 108°F/42°C or so.)

Changing directions somewhat on my contribution to this topic … :)

My family has previously used not-so-well-regarded PSUs in their computers, usually the ones that came with the cases. I forget some of the older PSU details, but our first computer was a '286 that we bought in January 1989 from a local computer store, and it had a 200-watt PSU. (The owner still runs a computer talk show on a local radio station and has one store location, not the one my dad bought the computer from though.) Then we typically replaced the computer about every 6 or 7 years or so. (Our next was a '486, which I think we got in 1995 but I can't really remember anything else about it, other than this may have been one that splattered radio interference all over the AM band the worst of any we've had, throughout the house.)

While my brother was still at home (he was definitely a gamer then as well as now; his steam account currently has 490 games), a couple of his computers' power supplies were the Sparkle Power FSP300-60GT (powering a Pentium II) and the Raidmax RX-380K, I think powering a...well I can't see the CPU under the heatsink (the computer is still at our house) but the motherboard is an Asus A7N8X-E, along with a GeForce FX5200 GPU. That computer probably hasn't been run in 10 or more years. (I wonder if it'd be safe to attempt to boot it? Except my current monitor only has HDMI and DisplayPort, and that computer only has VGA out.)

My parents' last desktop computer (whose impending death caused me to get my own first computer, see below) used a Logic PX-300Z PSU. The CPU was a 1.4 GHz Athlon, graphics card was a GeForce2 MX400 I think (no integrated graphics), it used IDE hard drives, and I think they got it around 2001 or 2002.

My first computer (before the one I now have) was built in early 2008 when my parents' last desktop was having problems. (It would start, run for a few minutes then BSOD or shut down. I was able to get about 20-30 minutes between reboots by underclocking the CPU to about 0.9 or 1 GHz, and I used it to order the parts for my then-new computer.) That 2008-built computer had a 500-watt OCZ StealthXStream PSU, which has active PFC but apparently based on my more recent research didn't have 80+ certification. (At the time I bought it I thought it was at least 80+ standard or maybe bronze but I guess I was wrong.) I still have that PSU sitting in a corner, but should I junk it seeing as it was used 4 years?
That PC up and died in 2012, and my inquiry on forums/chats at the time suggested my mobo died, specifically the southbridge or whatever was responsible for video out, and the only discrete GPUs I had to test used AGP ports which the Gigabyte GA-MA69G-S3H doesn't have. From then until I got my current one, I was using my dad's Dell D830 laptop (he bought it in August 2008) and a couple Android smartphones.

My current computer, built early this year (using an i7-4790K on an ASRock Z97 Extreme6, with three 4TB hard drives, etc) is using a piece of dung PSU now.

Just kidding!! 😀 It's a Corsair AX760 and so far I'm pretty happy with it. :) (I almost bet if it had multiple mobo+cpu connectors it could power my current PC *AND* a couple of our previous ones combined.)

As far as I know, none of our old “tier 5” PSUs have died in the spectacular fashion as units like the 500-watt Allied unit that Jonnyguru reviewed, or the 420-watt Jersey that's been mentioned elsewhere. Have we just been lucky? Or did our computers not demand all that much from them?

Also reading through the last couple pages on the thread, I'm reminded … that I like the low load tests on techpowerup – they do tests at 40, 60, 80 and 100 watt loads if the PSU has over 500-watt capacity. What I don't like about their site (as well as hardwaresecrets, although I do like other aspects of them) is that I can't find a way to see the entire review on one page like I can on some other sites like jonnyguru and a few others.

OH! While I was browsing through PSUs on Newegg, I came across the Cooler Master Elite V2 550-watt PSU. Cooler Master's V series is listed as Tier 1, but I know that this particular unit cannot possibly be Tier 1, as I see a voltage switch on it, meaning it has no active PFC, and it has no claims of 80+ certification.
So I was able to catch myself on that, but I wonder if some other people who are much less knowledgeable could confuse them? (Should a note be put in there somewhere that the V series is not to be confused with the Elite V2?)
 
I do think some mention of the reasoning behind a unit's placement is appropriate.
People who say the list "sucks" are probably expecting it to be the be-all, end-all on PSU selection, and it is NOT. It is one more data point (albeit a substantial one) among the collection of data points we all use to arrive at reasonable parts choices.
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I do not think Gabriel Torres has been active on HardwareSecrets since he returned to Brazil a couple years ago. That's a damn shame, as I also thought he did the best reviews. Check out HardOCP; I like theirs too, and they also will not hesitate to call a turd what it is.
 

That data is up there... And I assume you have a spreadsheet program. Even if you do not, Google has a free one you can use.
 
I think it's nice that ppl have suggestions on how to improve upon a simple tool, although I have my doubts about if they have any real conception of just how much work and effort has already been put into it. This project has been adopted, tweaked, revised, added to, researched, upheld, and stood by someone who is just a forum member, not a moderator, not part of the official team and not paid to do all this work and take all that abuse.

Like I said, it's nice to see suggestions, but it would be nicer to see volunteers. It's a tool ppl, just like a hammer. If you don't want to put forth the effort to use it wisely, then you don't get the right to twitch when you hit your thumb.

Sorry if that offends anyone, I'm just not a big fan of sitting idle when self sacrifice gets slapped around.
 
The brand Ultra needs updated. It is currently in Tier 5, but honestly they do have some better-than-tier-5 power supplies. Here is a review of the Ultra X4 850W power supply http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/ultra-x4-850-w-power-supply-review/8/

While it is not the best, it is not bad. Has 2 more y and 1 more x capacitor than recommended in the transient filtering stages. It has the standard protections, a MOV, and on overload tests these protections shut down the PSU, so it is not an exploding unit. Voltage and ripple were not good, but they were certainly within the range (120mV for 12V rail, and 50mV for the 5V and 3.3V rails for ripple). It uses Japanese capacitor(s) in the primary, but also uses some capacitors from Teapo in the secondary. It delivers its specified wattage and efficiency.
 


Some people, from some sites, are making me SOME angry. That's all I'm willing to say at this point so I don't go all captain crazypants on them and start ranting.
 


That is pretty much what I have done.

 


Well done - it was such a good idea of mine that you'd already had it. I was virtually told to do it myself but if I did, I'd probably disagree with half the findings.
 
I don't know for sure, but it seems a lot has been "borrowed" from Jonny's Google doc spreadsheet that was started when HE was going to try and create a tier list but then gave up on it for whatever reason. Probably because he realized how difficult it actually was to invest the time in researching reviews and actually have to pore over the details to determine what ought to go where.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qaSSCWjC11ArO8WyBb_wTvFU_Ez9488F6ARkbag1e14/edit#gid=0
 



I mentioned that as well to the right if you see. Only 4 brands are there for my country so I managed to complete it.

 
Where would the 550W Corsair RMx (only the 1000w model is on the list) and the Super Flower Leadex Gold 550W (or does the whole series fit in tier one)?
 
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